Devices including embedded transmitters/receivers, such as, e.g., personal digital assistants (xe2x80x9cPDAsxe2x80x9d), bar code scanners, cellular telephones, portable radios, televisions and terminals, etc., are often encased in metal or metal-plated housings presenting difficulties in the design of antennae for such devices due to interference introduced by the metal housing and other electronic components. As the size of such devices has decreased over time, the required minimum size of the antenna has significantly limited design options. For example, protruding antennae are undesirable because they are not in line with the profile requirements of a small device and the danger of the protruding antenna breaking. Slot antennae require openings the size of which tend to create mechanical weak points in the housing and, as they are often covered in plastic, they are susceptible to damage if, for example, the device is dropped or otherwise impacted or abraded.
The present invention relates to a device (e.g., a bar code scanner) which includes a communication arrangement and a housing enclosing the communication arrangement. The housing is composed of an electrically conductive material and has an opening formed therein. In addition, the device includes a cover mounted over the opening in the housing. The cover includes an electrically conductive contact member mounted thereto. The contact member contacts a portion of the housing adjacent to the opening and is electrically coupled to the communication arrangement so that a perimeter of the opening in the housing acts as a part of an antenna to receive and/or transmit signals for the communication arrangement.